The supposed note from the CIA warning about a possible attack in La Rambla of Barcelona is “a montage”. This was stated by the Catalan Interior minister, Joaquim Forn, and the chief of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), Josep Lluís Trapero. They did so during an extraordinary press conference on Thursday, dedicated to responding to the information published by the newspaper El Periódico. “The document is a montage that the editor of the newspaper himself has recognised,” said Forn.
The minister of Interior explained that, among the dozens of warnings that the Mossos receive about terrorist threats, there was one in the summer about an attack in La Rambla, but that it was from other sources and had “very low credibility”. However, they remitted it to the Spanish state, “which did not give veracity to the threat”. Josep Lluís Trapero insisted that it did "not come to us neither from the CIA nor the National Counterterrorism Center of the United States".
Days after the attacks, stated Forn, the Spanish Intelligence Centre against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) informed them that none of the warnings received — neither the one about La Rambla — had any "direct link" with the attacks of 17th August in Barcelona and Cambrils. In this way, it would not have prevented what finally happened.
Regarding the evaluation of a terrorist threat of 25th May, they had not yet received any notice. On 8th June, yes, but it was not discussed (other threats were), because it had been given low credibility. Neither was it discussed in the meeting of the Security Council of 10th July. Despite everything, the minister of Interior stated, the security in La Rambla was strengthened.
As previously stated, Joaquim Forn made it clear again that the Mossos do not have any direct relationship with the CIA, because "the international relationships (between security corps and intelligence agencies) are between states".
The chief of the Mossos has wanted to make clear that neither the police nor any of his agents had lied. “We have never given any information," assured Trapero, who added: “I would have liked that Mr. Enric Hernàndez [editor of El Periódico] to have come to the press conference, because I also have doubts”.
Distrust and poisoning
The Interior minister attacked what he considers “a campaign of mistreatment and poisining after the excellent work of the Mossos police”. He considered it “irresponsible” because, he said, a problem that "does not exist” ends up being transferred to the citizenship. In this sense, he regretted the "political intentions" of some newspapers.
In the same way, Josep Lluís Trapero regretted that “these gentlemen and us play in different leagues”. According to the head of the Mossos, with this information El Periódico has been dedicated to “discredit the Mossos and seek an exclusive". He accused Enric Hernàndez of hiding behind the sources. “Who has dictated all this to him?" Trapero asked.